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Macho Che
Macho Che / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Posted on January 12, 2015 Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo No doubt her name was Una. Or Agatha. Or Lil. Or Ide. O Brighid. Or Sinead. Or Nora. Or Tilde. Or perhaps Alaidh or Hilde. Any one of those Irish names reminiscent of other names whose etymology is tirelessly, […]
Without Cuba
Without Cuba / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Posted on January 12, 2015 When did we disappear while a nation? When did Cuba stop being one? Or perhaps it never fully was one? Nations are human inventions, impulses of our historical imagination. Cuba was the story that we told ourselves. A chronic story and, therefore, unbelievably […]
Cuba Isn’t a Good Market for Missouri - Blunt
Blunt: Cuba Isn’t a Good Market for Missouri Missourinet 01/12/2015 09:18 AM01/12/2015 09:20 AM WASHINGTON -- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) is pushing for the lifting of the more than 50-year-old trade embargo between the United States and Cuba. He says that would be good for the nation and Missouri in particular. Senator Roy Blunt […]
Planting a seed in Cuba to grow economy
Planting a seed in Cuba to grow economy Justin M. Napolitano Free trade with Cuba can open doors to capitalism, a guest columnist writes. I am not the biggest fan of columnist Charles Krauthammer, but I respect his ability to present his views. I can't say that I agree with much of what he wrote […]
U.S.–Cuba Accord Should Be a Boon for Science
U.S.–Cuba Accord Should Be a Boon for Science Cuba has world-class expertise in vaccines and environmental research to share, scientists say after last month's agreement to promote exchanges January 12, 2015 |By Rebecca Trager and ChemistryWorld The new year has brought a new era in US–Cuba relations that is ripe for scientific cooperation between the […]
Cuba's Fidel Castro reportedly sends letter; prisoners released
Cuba's Fidel Castro reportedly sends letter; prisoners released By TRACY WILKINSON U.S. says last of 53 jailed Cubans are freed, while Fidel Castro is said to write a letter after long absence Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, whose absence from public view for months has fueled rumors that he might be dead, reportedly sent a […]
How prisoner names were drawn up in U.S.-Cuba secret talks
How prisoner names were drawn up in U.S.-Cuba secret talks BY DAVID ADAMS, MATT SPETALNICK AND LESLEY WROUGHTON HAVANA/WASHINGTON Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:06pm EST (Reuters) - Cuba's deal with the United States to release 53 prisoners, worked out in secret talks over many months, has left a number of political opponents still in jail […]
Cuba Frees 53 Prisoners, U.S. Says
Cuba Frees 53 Prisoners, U.S. Says By ELISABETH MALKIN and VICTORIA BURNETTJAN. 12, 2015 MEXICO CITY — The Cuban government has released 53 dissidents it had promised to free under the accord with Washington to restore diplomatic relations and step up economic exchanges, United States officials said Monday. The release of the last prisoners on […]
Don't pack your suitcases
Don't pack your suitcases [12-01-2015 16:57:22] Jaime Suchlicki Director del Instituto de Estudios Cubanos y Cubano-Americanos de la Universidad de Miami (www.miscelaneasdecuba.net).- When Communism collapsed in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1990, Cuban-Americans, American companies and tourists optimistically expected Cuba to be the next domino to fall. I became well known back then […]
U.S.-Cuba diplomacy - Will it jeopardize green cards?
U.S.-Cuba diplomacy: Will it jeopardize green cards? ALFONSO CHARDY Y NORA GAMEZ TORRES [email protected] 01/12/2015 1:32 PM 01/12/2015 4:45 PM For almost 50 years, the Cuban Adjustment Act has allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees and immigrants from the island to obtain green cards after they settle in the United States. While many Cubans fear […]
The canonization of historical figures continues
“The canonization of historical figures continues” / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar Posted on January 12, 2015 14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 10 January 2015 – Outside the Galiano gallery in Central Havana yesterday, dozens of people gathered to enter the Añejo 27 [Aged 27] exposition. Some passersby were puzzled by the reasons for the tumult, perhaps thinking […]
Wi-Fi in Santiago de Cuba at Killer Prices
Wi-Fi in Santiago de Cuba at Killer Prices January 11, 2015 By Circles Robinson HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban monopoly telecommunication’s company ETECSA announces that an experimental WiFi conecction will become available in Santiago de Cuba during January. The price will be 4.50 CUC (5.00 USD) per hour, the equivalent of an average week’s salary […]
Dissidents struggle to regroup as US, Cuba move closer
Dissidents struggle to regroup as US, Cuba move closer Havana (AFP) - Dissidents in Cuba keen to get off the sidelines are reeling after the United States and the communist government said they will seek to end decades of Cold War bad blood. Following news of the historic shift, announced December 17, many members of […]
No gold rush for Cuba despite diplomatic thaw
No gold rush for Cuba despite diplomatic thaw Big hurdles to U.S. institutional investing keep it "years away' BY RICK BAERT | JANUARY 12, 2015 A slight thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations has some observers thinking that down the road, U.S. asset owner interest in the Caribbean nation could heat up. “Every now and then I […]
Cuba has freed all 53 prisoners as agreed in U.S. deal - U.S. officials
Exclusive: Cuba has freed all 53 prisoners as agreed in U.S. deal - U.S. officials BY MATT SPETALNICK, DAVID ADAMS AND LESLEY WROUGHTON WASHINGTON/HAVANA Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:11am EST (Reuters) - Cuba has released all 53 prisoners it had promised to free, senior U.S. officials said, a major step toward détente with Washington. The […]
U.S. trademarks and the new U.S.-Cuba reality and its potential
U.S. trademarks and the new U.S.-Cuba reality and its potential BY JORGE ESPINOSASPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD 01/11/2015 2:00 PM 01/11/2015 7:00 PM Less than 15 years ago, in retaliation for a U.S. court decision against the Cuban government over the use of the trademark “HAVANA CLUB,” Fidel Castro threatened to make his own counterfeit […]
Drug Consumption Increases in Cuba
Drug Consumption Increases in Cuba / 14ymedio, ORLANDO PALMA Posted on January 10, 2015 14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 8 January 2015 – The seizure in 2014 of close to 40 tons of drugs in Cuban ports and airports belies the old official line that for decades presented narco-trafficking as a foreign phenomenon, a characteristic of […]
Hope for a prosperous 2015 for Cuba
Hope for a prosperous 2015 for Cuba / Cubanet, Miriam Leiva Posted on January 10, 2015 Cubanet, Miriam Leiva, Havana, 6 January 2015 – The psychological barrier utilized by the Cuban government to keep its citizens subjugated was broken on the 17th of December. The surprising announcement that Raúl Castro would deliver a speech on […]
Secrecy
Secrecy / Regina Coyula Posted on January 10, 2015 The ruling elite accustomed themselves to living in secrecy, with that phrase, “Silence, the enemy is listening,” so convinced that all information about their lives was a matter of state, disrespecting public opinion, including that which sympathizers still have, with silence around the life (or death) […]
Trouble in Cuba? Call the pope
Trouble in Cuba? Call the pope How the Vatican helped soothe international tensions, in the 1960s and today THAT NEW ENGLAND was founded when and where it was ensured that, from the start, its settlers were locked inside a global drama of power and religion. To the North, French settlers were a constant menace; to […]
Cuba's Nightmare and Obama's Deal
Cuba's Nightmare and Obama's Deal Saturday, 10 Jan 2015 12:13 PM By Christopher Ruddy Newsmax I totally disagree with President Obama regarding his overture to Cuba and believe it will prove a giant mistake. Still, I don't believe the GOP should stop the President's initial steps should go "normalize" relations, such as setting up embassies […]
Cuba, amid the censorship, wades into WiFi
Cuba, amid the censorship, wades into WiFi Cuba, where Internet access is largely limited to government employees and pricey pay-by-hour public access, plans to start offering wireless service for the first time this month, officials said Saturday. Wireless Internet connections -- for laptops, smartphones or tablets -- will get a limited rollout through state-run Etecsa […]
Hope In Change Is Not a Valid Doctrine
Sebastian Arcos - Associate Director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University (FIU) Hope In Change Is Not a Valid Doctrine Posted: 01/10/2015 10:41 am EST Updated: 01/10/2015 10:59 am EST It was not my intention to turn this essay into a critique of President Obama's foreign policy, mainly because I wanted to […]
Radio and TV Martí have roles to play as Cuba enters a new era
Radio and TV Martí have roles to play as Cuba enters a new era By A. Ross Johnson and S. Enders Wimbush January 9 at 8:08 PM A. Ross Johnson, a fellow at the Wilson Center and the Hoover Institution, was director of Radio Free Europe from 1988 to 1991. S. Enders Wimbush was director […]
Capitalism Straight Away, or the Chinese Method First?
Capitalism Straight Away, or the Chinese Method First? / Rafael Alcides Posted on January 11, 2015 By Rafael Alcides — It’s December 17th. The majority (and right now there are about 30 of us in line at the pharmacy) is celebrating the agreements between Raul and Obama; if there had been firecrackers, they would have […]
Tania Bruguera on her art, her detentions and what happens next
Tania Bruguera on her art, her detentions and what happens next Cuba Caribbean Art Crime Homes History U.S. Department of State Carolina A. Miranda LOS ANGELES TIMES carolina.miranda@latimes.com Exclusive Q&A: Artist Tania Bruguera discusses her arrests, the medal she returned, next steps for her case Cuban performance artist Tania Bruguera has never been one to […]
Colorado farmers and ranchers look to Cuban market
Colorado farmers and ranchers look to Cuban market Colorado farmers and ranchers look to soon-to-open Cuban market with hope and hesitation GREELEY, Colo. (AP) -- Colorado farmers and ranchers are hoping to cash in on Cuban markets after the Obama administration relaxed some U.S. trade embargoes, but they say it won't be easy. Joe Schuele, […]
Cuba ain’t ready for mass tourism
Cuba ain’t ready for mass tourism Published: 10 January 2015 Salsa music and cigar smoke swirl round the grand courtyard of Havana's famous Hotel Nacional, and guests enjoy stunning views out over the "Malecon" seafront promenade and the ocean beyond. But inside, many of its rooms are shabby and musty, the WiFi is costly and […]
UN rights office hopes release of political prisoners paves way for freedoms to flourish
Cuba: UN rights office hopes release of political prisoners paves way for freedoms to flourish 9 January 2015 – The United Nations human rights office today welcomed Cuba’s recent release of political prisoners, hoping this new development will help open the way for an environment where freedom of expression and association flourishes. According to media […]
Cuba doesn't buy much of what Tampa offers
Cuba doesn't buy much of what Tampa offers At most, one small cargo ship a year goes to Cuba, says Port Tampa executive VP Raul Alfonso. And no shipping companies are planning regular trips. By Paul Guzzo | Tribune Staff Published: January 10, 2015 | Updated: January 10, 2015 at 10:37 AM TAMPA — Ever […]
Normalizing relations with Cuba could lead to more Illinois goods sold to island nation
Normalizing relations with Cuba could lead to more Illinois goods sold to island nation Published: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 11:24 p.m. CST By JOSEPH BUSTOS - [email protected] For years, Illinois farmers have dreamed of making it easier to sell corn and soybeans to Cuba. But with trade restrictions in place on the communist country, selling […]
Havana’s goals in U.S.-Cuba normalization remain unclear
Havana’s goals in U.S.-Cuba normalization remain unclear By Karen DeYoung January 10 at 8:54 PM One of the first things the State Department would like to do when diplomatic relations are reestablished with Cuba is to renovate the once and future U.S. Embassy building — a six-story, 1950s-era structure on the Havana waterfront that is […]
Despite changes, U.S. businesses still face a minefield of sanctions in Cuba
Despite changes, U.S. businesses still face a minefield of sanctions in Cuba Pedestrians walk past Fin de Siglo, a department store dating back to pre-revolution Cuba, in Havana on Monday, Dec. 22, 2014. U.S. is moving to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in more than a half-century. (Bloomberg) By Joshua Partlow […]
The greatest weapon against tyranny
The greatest weapon against tyranny BY HELEN AGUIRRE FERRÉ [email protected] 01/10/2015 2:00 PM 01/10/2015 7:00 PM The past few years have been particularly challenging for journalists, who saw a dramatic increase in kidnappings, videos and decapitations, according to a report from the Geneva-based group Reporters Without Borders (RWB). Syria, once again, is the most dangerous […]
The situation of religious liberty in Cuba
The situation of religious liberty in Cuba / Mario Lleonart Posted on January 9, 2015 The delegation from Instituto Patmos, invited by United for Human Rights to the celebration of the 66th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During all of 2014 this blog, Cubano Confesante, I examined the best part of the […]
So we remember him?
So we remember him? ELIECER AVILA, La Habana | Enero 09, 2015 They say some animals possess the ability to perceive when natural phenomenon will occur. Man, however much he has evolved, is still an animal and retains some primitive characteristics. I don’t know if this sharp sense is present in our DNA. What I […]
Open Letter to the European Union About Free Cuba
Open Letter to the European Union About Free Cuba / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Posted on January 10, 2015 Please send this text to: [email protected] and add your signature to mine if you wish. Thank you! Friday 9 January 2015 Your Excellency Mr. Christian Leffler, Managing Director for the Americas of the European External Action […]
Cuba's Economy - An Overview
Cuba's Economy: An Overview By Greg McFarlane | January 09, 2015 It only took five-plus decades, but Cuba has begun intermittent steps toward joining the world community and putting a dent in the collectivism that turned one of the Caribbean’s most vibrant economies into a static charity case of historic duration. Before La Revolución, Cuba […]
Cuba, US on the Mend, But at What Price?
Cuba, US on the Mend, But at What Price? By Heather Sells and Stan Jeter Friday, January 09, 2015 Now that Cuba and the United States have unexpectedly decided to renew diplomatic relations, many are asking - what's next? After five decades of cold war isolation, will the Cuban people experience new opportunities, including new […]
Cuba dissidents say 38 activists freed as part of deal with U.S.
Cuba dissidents say 38 activists freed as part of deal with U.S. BY DANIEL WALLIS AND NELSON ACOSTA HAVANA Fri Jan 9, 2015 5:00pm EST (Reuters) - Cuba has freed 38 opposition activists from prison over the past two days, including a popular hip-hop artist, as part of a deal to improve relations with the […]
Dealing With the New Cuba
Dealing With the New Cuba Michael Parmly Retired Senior Foreign Service Officer; Former Chief of the U.S. Posted: 01/09/2015 10:18 am In the weeks since Presidents Obama and Castro announced the historic breakthrough in U.S.-Cuban relations, most attention has focused on what the United States should do next. Fine, but in diplomacy and in life, […]
Learning to live without Fidel Castro
Learning to live without Fidel Castro / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez Posted on January 9, 2015 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana, 8 January 2015 — A poster with Fidel Castro’s face is pasted on the glass of the deteriorated locale. Years ago, some naughty boy painted the whites of his eyes dark and the effect is intimidating, […]
Havana’s Unofficial Wi-Fi Zones
Havana’s Unofficial Wi-Fi Zones January 8, 2015 Fernando Ravsberg* HAVANA TIMES — If a Cuban bureaucrat was given the task of collecting live snails, they would probably manage to escape before he was finished drawing up the resolutions and communiqués that regulate such an activity. This helps explain why citizens have much greater foresight than […]
Chasing After Concrete Blocks in Cuba
Chasing After Concrete Blocks in Cuba January 7, 2015 Jorge Milanés Despaigne HAVANA TIMES — “The trucks bring 600 concrete blocks a time,” Belkis says to me with a rude tone of voice. “That’s fine,” I reply. “But there’s something I don’t quite understand: the time these materials are received and how they are sold.” […]
Cuba: Prisoner releases must lead to new environment for freedoms
8 January 2015 Cuba: Prisoner releases must lead to new environment for freedoms The Cuban authorities have released at least eight jailed activists, with hopes of more to follow. The release of at least nine jailed opposition activists by the Cuban authorities since last night is a positive step which should be followed by a […]
The Empty Rostrum
Cuba: The Empty Rostrum January 6, 2015 Irina Echarry HAVANA TIMES — The last moments of 2014 were quite eventful. Occupied in my own, personal matters, I haven’t been out of the house in many days, but have kept abreast of what is happening in the country. I want to condemn the criminal proceedings that […]
Think Twice Before Buying Cuban Bonds
Think Twice Before Buying Cuban Bonds By Katia Porzecanski and Christine Jenkins January 08, 2015 If anyone in the U.S. knows the market for defaulted Cuban debt, it’s Leo Guzman. The walls of Guzman & Co., his Coral Gables (Fla.)-based brokerage firm, are covered with framed copies of the island’s defaulted sovereign and municipal bonds, […]
Will Cuba rejoin the IMF?
Will Cuba rejoin the IMF? JAMES M. BOUGHTON 10 HOURS AGO The restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States unlocks new prospects for the island’s economy. Some steps, including the removal of the U.S. trade embargo, are prohibited by the Helms-Burton Act, adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. But the renewal […]
Obama’s deal with Cuba just got much worse for those who want Cuba’s political prisoners freed
Obama’s deal with Cuba just got much worse for those who want Cuba’s political prisoners freed Jan. 8, 2015 2:49pm Pete Kasperowicz A State Department spokeswoman claimed Thursday that Cuba’s promise to release 53 political prisoners was not part of the broad agreement reached in December about how to rebuild relations between the U.S. and […]
China's Xi woos Latin America with $250 bln investments
China's Xi woos Latin America with $250 bln investments By By Megha Rajagopalan BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday $250 billion in investment in Latin America over the next 10 years as part of a drive to boost resource-hungry China's influence in a region long dominated by the United States. Leaders […]
U.S. businesses begin push to lift Cuba export rules
U.S. businesses begin push to lift Cuba export rules By Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. businesses are pushing to entirely lift an embargo on Cuba and win a larger share of its imports in the wake of President Barack Obama's move to ease sanctions against the island nation. The Caribbean country imports 80 percent […]
Top Cuban diplomat talks trade with Virginia officials
Top Cuban diplomat talks trade with Virginia officials Thursday January 8, 2015 06:47 PM The Associated Press (c) 2015, The Washington Post. RICHMOND, Va. — Cuba's top diplomat in the United States traveled to Virginia's capital this week amid new hope that sweeping changes in U.S.-Cuba policy will bring major business opportunities to the commonwealth […]
Dairy groups support efforts to boost exports to Cuba
Dairy groups support efforts to boost exports to Cuba By National Milk Producers Federation January 08, 2015 | 2:18 pm EST Three major dairy producer, export support and processing organizations joined other food and agricultural organizations in support of additional changes in U.S. policy to facilitate U.S. dairy exports to Cuba and permit open travel […]
Miami’s Younger Cubans Break With Past
Miami’s Younger Cubans Break With Past Native-Born Cuban Americans More Open to Detente With Havana Than Their Exiled Kin, Amid Changing Demographics By REED JOHNSON Jan. 6, 2015 7:46 p.m. ET MIAMI—Last month, President Barack Obama proclaimed “a new approach” to U.S.-Cuba relations. But Nilda Pedraza sees only the same entrenched communist regime that she […]
Tampa International Airport promotes Cuba routes
Tampa International Airport promotes Cuba routes By Yvette C. Hammett | Tribune Staff Published: January 8, 2015 | Updated: January 8, 2015 at 08:44 PM TAMPA — Anyone conducting a Google search for information on flights to Cuba will find gotocuba.org at the top of the search results. Tampa International Airport paid good money for […]
Cuba's Highly Trained Workforce Beckons Foreign Investors
Cuba's Highly Trained Workforce Beckons Foreign Investors By Anatoly Kurmanaev, Eric Martin, and Sabrina Valle January 08, 2015 Alfonso Morre spent nine years studying applied mechanics and civil engineering. That training has come in handy in his job driving a taxi in Havana. Morre spends his days ferrying tourists around in a 26-year-old Russian-made Lada—and […]
Cuba Is Reported to Release 26 Dissidents
Cuba Is Reported to Release 26 Dissidents By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLDJAN. 8, 2015 MEXICO CITY — After a flurry of arrests in recent weeks raised questions about its human rights record, Cuba on Thursday released more than two dozen dissidents, some of them believed to be among 53 it had agreed to free last month […]
Cuba frees eight more political prisoners, dissidents say
Cuba frees eight more political prisoners, dissidents say BY DANIEL WALLIS AND ROSA TANIA VALDÉS HAVANA Thu Jan 8, 2015 4:25pm EST (Reuters) - Cuba has freed eight more detainees, dissidents said on Thursday, as Havana begins to release 53 people the United States considers political prisoners as part of an agreement aimed at ending […]
Dates set for Havana talks on restoring diplomatic ties
Dates set for Havana talks on restoring diplomatic ties BY MIMI WHITEFIEL [email protected] 01/08/2015 7:00 AM 01/08/2015 8:07 PM The State Department said Thursday that historic talks to start the process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba and to discuss migration issues between the two countries are set for January 21 and […]
Appeal against the arrest of graffiti artist El Sexto rejected; prisoner transferred to Valle Grande
Appeal against the arrest of graffiti artist El Sexto rejected; prisoner transferred to Valle Grande / Diario de Cuba Posted on January 7, 2015 Diario de Cuba, Havana, 7 January 2015 — The graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto, remains imprisoned in Valle Grande prison after authorities rejected the habeas corpus appeal presented […]
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